Ctenocephalides felis an in vitro potential vector for five Bartonella species

Abstract

The blood-sucking arthropod Ctenocephalides felis has been confirmed as a vector for Bartonella henselae and is a suspected vector for Bartonella clarridgeiae, Bartonella quintana and Bartonella koehlerae in Bartonella transmission to mammals. To understand the absence of other Bartonella species in the cat flea, we have developed an artificial flea-feeding method with blood infected successively with five different Bartonella species. The results demonstrated the ability of these five Bartonella species to persist in C. felis suggesting an ability of fleas to be a potential vector for several Bartonella species. In addition, we demonstrated a regurgitation of Bartonella DNA in uninfected blood used to feed C. felis thus suggesting a potential horizontal transmission of Bartonella through C. felis saliva. On the contrary, no vertical transmission was detected in these artificial conditions.